Spotlight: Yumiko Gely

Tell us about your background prior to starting at Rush.

I moved around quite a bit during my childhood, but mainly grew up in the Midwest. I attended the University of Missouri receiving my Bachelor of Science in Biology and Bachelor of Health Science in 2016. I joined the Peace Corps in 2017 and served for two years in Paraguay as a Community Health Volunteer.

What or who inspired you to pursue a career in medicine?

Several people throughout my life inspired me to pursue a career in medicine. My family first and foremost as well as several physicians that took me under their wing, guided me, taught me, and pushed me to pursue a career in medicine.

What advice would you give someone who is considering medicine?

Work hard! Several people are going to tell you that you can’t do it, or should do something easier, or less competitive, but use that as fuel to get that MD!

What are some of the community initiatives you have been involved or currently working on at Rush?

I oversee coordinating Rush Students at the Community Health Clinic, a free clinic on the West Side of Chicago. I am also the president of the Latino Medical Student Association where we have several community initiatives for the Latinx community on the West Side including our Pipeline program, our chronic disease screening programs and most recently due to COVID, our letter-writing campaign to Hispanic patients at Rush and our COVID Outreach Education Program.

Please tell us a fun fact about you.

I speak 3 and a half languages!

Please include any additional information that you would like to share.

I’m interested in global health, health inequalities especially in the Latinx community, as well as emergency medicine, surgery, or pediatrics!